Thursday, March 19, 2015

Barbara Elsborg is with us today! We are so excited! …and it gets better, she’s talking about SEX! As HUGE fans of this author here at Sinfully it almost came to fisty cuffs when this book came up for review, our Lisa came out the winner and if you read her review, you will see exactly why the rest of us are still sulking at having to wait patiently for release day… 3 more days and counting! Go check what Lisa has to say and don’t miss out on the giveaway. Barbara is very generously gifting an ebook from her back catalogue to one lucky commenter, so please leave a comment at the end of the post for your chance to win.

A Word from Barbara Elsborg

Sex sex sex sex sex sex sex

That should have got your attention! Oh do I have problems with sex. No, not with you husband, you can go back to cleaning the grout. He actually is cleaning the grout. What a saint! Back to the subject. Sex. The writing it is a challenge every flipping time. You’d think with so many books under my belt I’d find that part easy but no, I don’t. I think part of the problem is the difficulty in making sex scenes fresh and different. I know I tire of those pages in stories when it’s just the same thing played over and over, so I do like my guys ( or girl and guy, or two guys and a girl) to enjoy themselves and find something to laugh about.

Poor Harper in Falling has been without a partner for many years. So that first time with Malachi, I had to imagine how desperate he’d be and yet anxious about not being too pushy. The scene had to be full of energy, brimming with raw passion but sensitive to the backgrounds of both men.

I don’t mean in any way to diminish the seriousness of sexual assault, but my thought for this story was – what if the guy didn’t do it? What if no one believed him? What would his life afterward be like? What would he feel like when he made love for the first time since his release? I rewrote that scene umpteen times before I was happy with it. Having said that, I write every sex scene umpteen times before I’m happy with it.

Falling (Fall or Break #1) by Barbara Elsborg

Synopsis

Falling is easy. Landing without breaking your heart? Impossible.Harper is no longer behind bars, but it doesn’t feel like it. Ten years serving time for a crime he didn’t commit have left him shut down, numb, and a frozen wreck over the simplest of choices.He’s acutely aware of the dark-haired young man checking him out in the supermarket, but he’s too deep in panic mode to even meet the guy’s gaze. Afraid the slightest move will trigger a fall that will never stop.Fresh off a long-term relationship with a controlling man, Malachi is stuck living with relatives who think he’s a waste of oxygen. The tall guy in the long, gray coat is the first bright spot he’s glimpsed in a long time…though the man’s unblinking stare at a bottle of shower gel is a touch alarming.Hard experience tells both of them to turn away before lust turns to hopeless attraction, and inevitably to disaster. But once their sparks connect, the arc of electricity is too strong to deny. Even if the cost is too much to bear.Warning: Contains an ex-con with disaster written all over him, a boy toy who’s trouble with a capital T, a damp old British house, compulsive meddling, and enough hot sex to cure the severe case of nervous babbling.

Lisa’s Review

“Falling is easy. Landing without breaking your heart? Impossible.”

Falling by Barbara Elsborg is book one in her new series entitled Fall or Break. I am a huge fan of this author and her witty and unapologetic writing style. This was definitely one of the more somber, emotionally angsty and darker books by this author. It was also absolutely gripping right from the start. This is a book about two individuals who are both scarred in different ways and, frankly, both are in some pretty desolate circumstances. It’s about how they embark on a journey that changes the scope of their landscape forever.

“He couldn’t switch off ten years of anxiety just because he was free.

Free. Yeah, right.”

“His life had been wrecked by lies and he’d be falling forever because there was no one to catch him.”

“Maybe that was how he should start over, get rid of everything and begin again, rip out his memories and begin again, rip out his heart and begin again.”

Thirty-four year old Harper Shaw has spent the last ten years behind bars paying for a crime he did not commit. He’s angry, fearful, numb and is simply a forsaken wreck of a man. The man he once was is long gone replaced by a hallow individual who no longer is able to deal with even making the simplest of choices, afraid that anything could set off a fall into oblivion that he would never be able to stop. Twenty-four year old Malachi Jones’ life is looking bleak. After ending things with his long-time boyfriend who was as controlling as he was intense, Malachi finds himself having to live with his sister and a brother-in-law who thinks he’s no better than the dirt on his shoes. Malachi is desperate to find a job so that he can start fresh. Both men first see each other in a supermarket and feel this instant pull; however, hard experience has them turning away from temptation.

When Harper and Malachi meet up again there is no denying the spark between them and the men form a tentative and fragile friendship. It does not take long for something more profound to begin developing between Malachi and Harper; however, will Malachi run when he discovers the truth about Harper? Will the pair be able to withstand the constant bombardment of obstacles that seem to keep appearing and standing in their way?

I loved the romance between Malachi and Harper. I loved how it developed slowly and organically. Despite the uncertain and horrible circumstances both men were in, they seemed to be exactly what the other needed. A shining light in their drab and murky worlds. Regardless of the darker undertones to the overall story arc, the actual love story was truly sweet and heart-felt. Malachi’s loyalty towards Harper made him such an endearing character that I could not help rooting for. The fact that he made a choice to help Harper intentionally sacrificing his own happiness simply showed just how deep his feeling for the other man ran. Harper was hesitant to start things at first considering his trust issues as well as how he felt he would be unable to bring anything to a relationship. After all, he was an ex-con with an array of emotional and psychological hurdles to overcome. Malachi’s persistence, strong-headed demeanour and good nature does eventually win him over.

Both Malachi and Harper are these complex characters and this author does a wonderful job stripping away the layers and intermixing it with some heavy steam and a suspenseful storyline. The mystery surrounding Harper’s imprisonment as well as Malachi’s ex-boyfriend were well done. It kept me turning the pages completely engulfed in all that was happening. Further, as in most Barbara Elsborg books, we get quite a few hot and heavy scenes. I loved how passionate Harper and Malachi were with one another as they explored all that was between them.

Once again Barbara Elsborg has penned a captivating and moving tale with Falling. The ending had me happily sighing and feeling very satisfied. The next book which is due out in July 2015 will be about Conrad, Malachi’s ex. What an intriguing character he turned out to be and I will be anxiously awaiting his story.

“You are what’s important in my life. Freedom tastes like you. Without you, I’m nothing. With you, I’m everything.”

Purchase Links

Meet Barbara Elsborg

Barbara Elsborg lives in West Yorkshire in the north of England. She always wanted to be a spy, but having confessed to everyone without them even resorting to torture, she decided it was not for her. Vulcanology scorched her feet. A morbid fear of sharks put paid to marine biology. So instead, she spent several years successfully selling cyanide. (Try saying that fast)

After dragging up two rotten, ungrateful children and frustrating her sexy, devoted, wonderful husband (who can now stop twisting her arm) she finally has time to conduct an affair with an electrifying plugged-in male, her laptop. Her books feature quirky heroines and bad boys, sometimes two bad boys for each quirky heroine, and more recently two bad boys all on their own. She hopes her stories are as much fun to read as they are to write.

You can find out more about Barbara and her books at www.barbaraelsborg.com, catch more of her scintillating wit at her blog on the same site, and if you want to tell her how much you love her books, please, email her! bjel@btinternet.com

Great blurb and great review as usual...And as for writing sex scenes,I understand you. I read couple of books (well,more than couple) which involved damaged (sometimes abused) characters,but when it came to sex scene it was like reading a porn o.O. Probably because sex sells,but there's gotta be a line somewhere... Anyway,congratulation on your release,I'm looking forward to reading it! :)

I'm glad that you put effort into making sex scenes fresh! I've read a few books where I come to yet another sex scene and just start to skim. But fortunately I read lots of really good ones in between! :D

I've never read anything by you but this book sounds really good and I'm always looking for new (to me) authors that may offer something different than what I can already find. Thanks for the opportunity.